Heard on The Judges: _for a minute_ = "over a long period of time," etc.

[Wilson Gray]

Twenty-ish, black male plaintiff from Nashville, TN:
"Your honor, I been knowing this girl _for a minute_, about seven years."
Judge Mathis, addressing his Irish-American bailiff:
"Doyle, in urban speech, in the inner city, _for a minute_ means 'for
a long time.' See, that's why people need to get to know each other,
blah-blah-blah."

"A minute" is relatively recent. Back in the '60's, we would have said,

"I been knowing this girl _for days_, about seven years."

The plaintiff also says,
"I _ain't studying you_!"

This phrase, _ain't studying you_ = "have no interest in you, don't
care about you, am unconcerned with you, forget you," etc. A
Portuguese-American Army buddy, a graduate of Choate - before I met
him, I thought that _Choate_ was pronounced "Cho-Ate;" it's that
internal -a- or that word-final -e; _Choat_ or _Chote_ and I'd have
gotten it right the first time - was fascinated by this bit of BE. I
don't know why. I didn't ask, because I didn't want to hear about the
sixty-ish colored girl who cleaned house for his family, or whatever.

Speaking of time, in Saint Louis there was use of _a *while*_ to mean
"never," as in:

"If you're waiting on Mary, then you're going to be waiting a
*while*!" (She has stood you up.)

"If you're waiting on John for that bread, then you're going to be
waiting _a *while*_!" (He has no intention of paying you back, or, He
has no intention of lending you the money.)

"If you're looking for the Arch, then you're going to be looking a
*while*! (You can't get there from here.)

In The Lou, way back when, _not as long as I'm *black*!_ was used to
mean, "emphatically *no*!"

A. "Man, what's happening? You going to let me hold that Benny (Franklin)?"

B. "Not as long as I'm *black*!"

Since this was used back in the day when black was not in the least
"beautiful," that a person should refer to *himself* as "black" for
*any* reason made it quite clear that was no point in attempting any
kind of negotiation. There was no way to "misunderstand" that  _no_
meant "hail gnaw!"
--
-Wilson
-----
All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"––a strange complaint to
come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
-Mark Twain

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org